Catholicism in Twentieth-Century Ireland: From “an Atmosphere Steeped in the Faith” to à la Carte Catholicism
The aim of this article is to give a historical overview of Catholic culture in the Republic of Ireland in the twentieth century and to examine how it has changed. Ireland has in a short period changed from a largely rural agricultural economy to a modern urbanised one. Religious practice has declin...
Main Author: | |
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
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Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
Brill
2012
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In: |
Journal of religion in Europe
Year: 2012, Volume: 5, Issue: 4, Pages: 484-513 |
Further subjects: | B
authoritarian
independence
freedom of choice
rejection of legalism
liberalisation
Hugh McLeod
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Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) |
Summary: | The aim of this article is to give a historical overview of Catholic culture in the Republic of Ireland in the twentieth century and to examine how it has changed. Ireland has in a short period changed from a largely rural agricultural economy to a modern urbanised one. Religious practice has declined steadily in that time and Catholicism no longer exercises the same influence on people's lives, or on the political/legislative process. The climate of the 1960s and the events that unfolded from that time made traditional Catholicism unsustainable. However in the 2011 census, eighty-four percent of Irish people still call themselves Catholic and recent surveys estimate the weekly Mass attendance rate at about forty-three percent. This and other contra-indications suggest that one should be cautious about adopting secularisation theories too readily in the Irish case. It would appear that many Irish still identify with their Catholic cultural heritage. |
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ISSN: | 1874-8929 |
Contains: | In: Journal of religion in Europe
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/18748929-00504004 |